System and method for executing a lubrication plan

ABSTRACT

A method of executing a lubrication plan for lubricating a plurality of machines with grease is provided. Each machine includes one or more lubrication points where grease is delivered. The method defines a set of instructions for the lubrication plan, including at least a series of prescribed grease volumes to be delivered at a corresponding series of lubrication points; generating an image of each lubrication point in the series, including a visual indication of the location of that lubrication point on the machine; storing the set of instructions and each generated image in a system including a grease meter and a display device; displaying a generated image of a lubrication point on the display device, including the prescribed grease volume be delivered there; delivering grease at that lubrication point via the grease meter, displaying a generated image of a further lubrication point, including the prescribed grease volume be delivered there.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a system and method for lubricating aplurality of machines with grease, whereby each machine has one or morelubrication points.

BACKGROUND TO THE INVENTION

Re-lubrication is an essential part of machine maintenance, particularlywhen the machine comprises rolling element bearings. Commonly, thebearings are mounted in a housing that is equipped with a lubricationpoint for supplying the bearing with grease. When the lubrication pointson a machine are located in a hard-to-reach place, automatic lubricatorsare often connected to the lubrication points. If, however, thelubrication points are accessible, it is common practice for theselubrication points to be lubricated manually.

A maintenance technician may print out a task list of machines andassociated lubrication points where a prescribed quantity of grease isto be delivered, when the prescribed re-lubrication interval haselapsed. A grease gun is typically used, possibly in combination with agrease flow meter, to ensure that the correct quantity of grease isdelivered. When each lubrication task on the list has been completed,the technician will then enter the associated data in, for example, alubrication scheduling program.

A problem associated with manual lubrication is that lubrication pointsare not always clearly indicated on a machine, making it possible tolubricate the wrong place. Also, the entry of data after all of thelubrication tasks have been performed incurs the risk of errors. Amachine which had not, in fact, been re-lubricated might get marked assuch in the program, meaning that the next scheduled lubrication actionwill occur too late.

A possible solution to this problem is proposed in U.S. Pat. No.6,997,286, which discloses a method and a device for the manuallubrication of a plurality of lubrication points with a quantity oflubricant, individually predetermined for each lubrication point. Thelubrication points are provided with individual identification elements.Information on the quantity of lubricant to be administered to eachlubrication point in each instance of lubrication is stored in a memory.During lubrication, the lubrication point is identified and informationon the predetermined quantity of lubricant is retrieved from the memory,following which lubricant is administered to the lubrication point.Information on the lubrication carried out and the time thereof isstored in the memory. The device includes a lubricant gun, with meansfor measuring the quantity administered and for identifying thelubrication point.

Although this solution eliminates many of the possibilities for humanerror, the cost and effort involved in providing each lubrication pointwith an electronic identification tag is considerable.

Consequently, there is room for improvement in terms of defining amethod and a system for executing a manual re-lubrication plan, whichare more straightforward and inexpensive.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In a first aspect, the present invention defines a method of executing alubrication plan for lubricating a plurality of machines with grease,where each machine comprises one or more lubrication points where greasecan be delivered. The method comprises steps of:

-   -   defining a set of instructions for the lubrication plan,        including at least a series of prescribed grease volumes V₁, V₂,        . . . V_(n) to be delivered at a corresponding series of        lubrication points L₁, L₂, . . . L_(n);    -   generating an image of each lubrication point in the series,        whereby each generated image comprises a photograph of the        machine that has the lubrication point, including a visual        indication of the location of that lubrication point on the        machine;    -   storing the set of instructions and each generated image in a        system comprising a grease meter and a display device;    -   displaying a generated image of a lubrication point in the        series on the display device, including the prescribed grease        volume be delivered there;    -   delivering grease at that lubrication point via the grease        meter, which measures and stores the delivered volume;    -   displaying a generated image of a further lubrication point in        the series, including the prescribed grease volume be delivered        there, whereby the step of displaying (vi) is triggered by the        storage of the delivered volume measured by the grease meter in        step (v); and    -   repeating steps (v) and (vi) until the grease meter has stored        the delivered volume of grease for all of the lubrication points        in the series.

Thus, a maintenance technician who is carrying out the lubrication plansees a real image of each lubrication point, including an indication ofwhere it is located on the particular machine. In one example, thelocation is indicated by an arrow that is superimposed on the photographof the machine. It another example, the location is highlighted. Manyother options exist.

The images are displayed on a screen of the display device. In someexamples, the display device is integrated in the grease meter, whichhas the advantage of reducing the number of system components. In otherexamples, the grease meter is configured to communicate with an externaldevice such as a smart phone or a tablet computer or a pair of ®Googleglasses.

In addition to being directed to the correct point on a machine, thetechnician also sees the prescribed volume of grease to be delivered atthat point. Preferably, the set of instructions also includes aprescribed type of grease to be delivered at each lubrication point inthe series, which is displayed on the screen of the display device alongwith the prescribed volume. Furthermore, a code may be assigned to eachlubrication point in series, which is then also displayed.

Therefore, by means of the displayed information and the use of a greasemeter, the technician is able to provide the right amount of grease atthe right place. The grease meter is configured to store the volume ofgrease that has been delivered during a lubrication event, which reducesthe possibility for human error. The act of storing also triggers thedisplay of the next lubrication point in the series.

In one embodiment of the method of the invention, a sequential order isassigned to each lubrication point in the series. Thus, a certainlubrication point is defined as the first point L₁ in the series andthis first point is displayed in the first step of displaying (iv).After storage of the volume of grease delivered there, the nextlubrication point in the sequential order, i.e. L₂, is displayed in thefurther step of displaying (vi). The next lubrication point to bedisplayed will be L₃ and so on.

In a further embodiment of the method, a geographic position is assignedto each lubrication point in the series and the grease meter or thedisplay device is equipped with a positioning system. In thisembodiment, the first lubrication point to be displayed is thelubrication point that is geographically closest to the technician (andpositioning system). The next lubrication point to be displayed willagain be the point in the series that is geographically closest, forwhich a delivered volume of grease has not yet been stored.

In a further development, the steps of displaying (iv) and (vi) furthercomprise displaying an indication of where the lubrication point islocated, relative to the location of the technician, to guide thetechnician to the right location.

Furthermore, the system may be configured to store the geographicposition at which a certain grease volume has been delivered. Thisenables verification that the right amount of grease has been deliveredat the right place.

Advantageously, the grease meter is further configured to time stamp thetime at which the delivered volume of grease was stored. This enablesaccuate scheduling of when the next lubrication event should beperformed at the corresponding lubrication point.

In some examples, the grease meter is integrated in a grease gun thatdelivers the grease. The grease meter may then be further configured tostop the delivery of grease when the prescribed volume has beenmeasured.

In a second aspect of the invention, a system for executing alubrication plan is defined. The system comprises a display device and agrease meter for measuring a volumetric flow of grease through themeter, whereby the grease meter comprises:

-   -   memory means for storing a set of instructions, which at least        include a series of prescribed grease volumes V₁, V₂, . . .        V_(n) to be delivered at a corresponding series of lubrication        points L₁, L₂, . . . L_(n),    -   memory means for storing a volume of grease delivered at a        particular lubrication point; and    -   means for communicating with the display device.

The display device comprises memory means for storing an image of eachlubrication point in the series, each image being a photograph of themachine that comprises the lubrication point, including a visualindication of the location of that lubrication point on the machine.Furthermore, the display device is configured to display each imagealong with the prescribed grease volume that is to be delivered at thecorresponding lubrication point. After displaying one image, the displayof a further image is triggered by the the grease meter when a deliveredvolume is stored.

Advantageously, the memory and communication means of the grease meterare housed within an electronic module that is separated from themechanical parts of the grease meter, to protect the electronics fromcontamination. In a further development, the electronic module is adetachable module that can be repeatedly detached from and reconnectedto the grease meter. Thus, if the technician wants to upload the storeddata into a computer located in e.g. an office environment, the “dirty”parts of the grease meter can be left behind.

In a still further development, the grease meter is equipped with meansfor measuring and storing a signal from a sensor, such as a vibrationsensor that is mounted on one or more of the machines to berelubricated. This makes it possible to carry out condition monitoringduring a lubrication event.

Thus, the system and method of the invention enable a technician toexecute a lubrication plan in an efficient and straightforward manner.Other advantages will become apparent from the detailed description andaccompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows a schematic view of a plurality of machines and a series oflubrication points provided on the plurality of machines;

FIG. 2 shows an example of a generated image that may be displayed inthe method of the invention;

FIG. 3 shows an example of a device configured for use in the method ofthe invention

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

FIG. 1 is a schematic representation of four machines M1, M2, M3, M4,each of which has at least one lubrication point, defining a series oflubrication points L₁, L₂, L₃, L₄, L₅, L₆, L₇. Let us assume that allfour machines are due for re-lubrication, whereby a prescribed volume ofgrease is to be delivered at each of the lubrication points. Thus, aseries of prescribed grease volumes V₁, V₂, V₃, V₄, V₅, V₆, V₇associated with the corresponding series of lubrication points L₁, L₂,L₃, L₄, L₅, L₆, L₇ can be defined.

The series of grease volumes to be delivered at the correspondinglubrication points forms a set of instructions or lubrication taskswhich are to be executed manually by a technician. To facilitate theaccurate and efficient execution of the lubrication tasks, thetechnician employs a system comprising a grease meter and a displaydevice and follows an inventive method.

In a first step of the method, the set of instructions associated withthe lubrication tasks are defined. The set of instructions at leastincludes a definition of the lubrication points to be lubricated and thevolume of grease to be delivered there.

In a second step, an image of each lubrication point in the series isgenerated. The generated image comprises a digital photograph of themachine that has the lubrication point, plus an additional visualindication of the location of the lubrication point on the machine. Anexample of a generated image, of lubrication point L₁, is shown in FIG.2. The generated image 5 consists of a photograph of machine M1 and asuperimposed arrow 10 that points to the location of the lubricationpoint L₁.

Suitably, such an image is generated for each lubrication point in theplant or factory, whereby a unique identifier is assigned to eachlubrication point. The unique identifier may be a code, such as“42-3202-244-DS” (indicated by reference numeral 20 in FIG. 2). In otherwords, a visual library of the lubrication points is created.

According to a third step in the method of the invention, the visuallibrary of lubrication points and the set of instructions associatedwith the lubrication tasks are stored in a system comprising a greasemeter and a display device.

In one embodiment of the method, the series of lubrication points atwhich grease is to be delivered is defined in sequential order. Withreference to FIG. 1, lubrication point L₁ is the first point in thesequence, L₂ is the second point in the sequence and so on. After theset of instructions has been stored, a fourth step in the methodcomprises displaying the generated image 5 of the first lubricationpoint L₁ on a screen of the display device. In addition to the generatedimage, the prescribed volume of grease V₁ to be delivered at the firstlubrication point is displayed, e.g. 5 g. Preferably, a prescribed typeof grease to be delivered is also displayed, e.g. LGHP2 (indicated byreference numeral 15). The identification code 20 associated with thefirst lubrication point may also be displayed.

The photographic image of the machine M1 enables the technician toeasily find the correct machine; the arrow 10 quickly directs him to thelubrication point L₁ and the displayed volume V₁ tells him how much todeliver. In a fifth step of the method, the technician delivers theprescribed volume of grease using a grease meter connected to e.g. agrease gun. The grease meter measures the volume of grease delivered andstores the delivered volume.

The storage of the delivered grease volume may be initiated by thetechnician, e.g. by pressing a button on the grease meter or on thedisplay device. Alternatively, the grease meter may be configured tostore the delivered volume after a prescribed interval of no grease flowmeasurement. For example, 30 seconds after grease delivery has stopped.

Storage of the volume of grease delivered at the first lubrication L₁point triggers a sixth step of the method, in which a generated image ofthe next lubrication point L₂ in the sequence is displayed. Again, thegenerated image comprises a photograph of machine M1 plus an arrow thatpoints to the location of the second lubrication point L₂ Furthermore,the prescribed volume of grease V₂ to be delivered there is displayed,preferably along with the prescribed type of grease and theidentification code associated with the second lubrication point. Afterthe technician has performed the lubrication task at L₂, the deliveredvolume is stored in the grease meter, which triggers the display of thethird lubrication point L₃ in the sequence.

Thus, the fifth and sixth steps of the method are repeated until thefinal volume V₇ for the final lubrication point L₇ in the sequence hasbeen stored. When all of the tasks have been performed, the deliveredvolumes V₁-V₇ associated with the corresponding lubrication points L₁-L₇are suitably loaded into a central computer or, for example, a softwarepackage for managing and scheduling lubrication tasks. Alternatively,the completed task list may be uploaded to a cloud platform.

The display device used in the system and methods of the invention canbe a tablet computer, or a smart phone or a pair of ®Google glasses. Inone embodiment, the display device is integrated in the grease meter. Afront view of such a grease meter is shown in FIG. 3.

The grease meter 30 in the depicted example is an oval gear meter suchas described in WO2007/132062. The grease meter comprises twooval-shaped gears arranged to rotate in synchronism in a chamberprovided in a housing 35. When grease flows through the chamber, thegears rotate at a speed proportional to the flow rate. The meter isfurther equipped with means for detecting the rotational speed of thegears, enabling the volume of grease passing though the chamber in agiven time interval to be measured.

The grease meter further comprises a delivery tube 40 having first andsecond sections 41, 42 in connection with the chamber. The first sectionhas a connection point 43 to which a grease gun is connectable; thesecond section 42 has a connection point 44 that is configured forconnection to a machine lubrication point.

In the depicted example, the grease meter has a first screen 51 fordisplaying the volume of grease being measured. A second screen 52 isprovided for displaying the generated image of a lubrication point, plusat least the prescribed grease volume, as described above. Needless tosay, a single screen may be provided for displaying all information.

In a further embodiment, the grease meter or the display device (whenseparate) is equipped with a positioning system and a geographicposition is assigned to each lubrication point L₁, L₂, L₃, L₄, L₅, L₆,L₇.

In a corresponding embodiment of the method, the first generated imageto be displayed on the screen of the display device is a generated imageof the lubrication point that is geographically closest to thepositioning system. Let us assume that this is the lubrication pointindicated in FIG. 1 with reference L₃. After the volume of greasedelivered at L₃ has been stored, the next generated image displayed is agenerated image of the lubrication point closest to L₃, i.e. L₄ The nextgenerated image displayed will be an image of the closest lubricationpoint to L₄ for which a delivered volume of grease has not yet beenstored. Advantageously, the grease meter is further configured to storethe geographic position at which a delivered volume of grease is stored.This enables further verification that grease has been delivered at thecorrect lubrication point.

A number of aspects/embodiments of the invention have been described.The invention is not restricted to the described embodiments, but may bevaried within the scope of the accompanying patent claims.

1. A method of executing a lubrication plan for lubricating a pluralityof machines with grease, each machine comprising one or more lubricationpoints, the method comprising steps of: defining a set of instructionsfor the lubrication plan, including at least a series of prescribedgrease volumes V1, V2, . . . Vn to be delivered at a correspondingseries of lubrication points L1, L2, . . . Ln; generating an image ofeach lubrication point in the series, wherein the generated imagecomprises a photograph of the machine that provides the lubricationpoint, including a visual indication of the location of that lubricationpoint on the machine; storing the set of instructions and each generatedimage in a system comprising a grease meter and a display device;displaying a generated image of a lubrication point in the series on thedisplay device, including the prescribed grease volume be deliveredthere; delivering grease at that lubrication point via the grease meter,which measures and stores the delivered volume; displaying a generatedimage of a further lubrication point in the series on the displaydevice, including the prescribed grease volume be delivered there,wherein the step of displaying (vi) is triggered by the storage of thedelivered volume measured by the grease meter in step (v); and repeatingsteps (v) and (vi) until the grease meter has stored the deliveredvolume of grease for all of the lubrication points in the series.
 2. Themethod of claim 1, wherein: the step of defining a set of instructionsincludes defining a prescribed type of grease to be delivered at eachlubrication point and assigning a code to each lubrication point; andthe steps of displaying (iv) and (vi) further include displaying thecode assigned to the particular lubrication point and displaying theprescribed type of grease to be delivered there.
 3. The method of claim1, wherein the grease meter comprises the display device.
 4. The methodof claim 1, wherein the display device is a separate device with whichthe grease meter is configured to communicate.
 5. The method of claim 4,wherein the display device is a tablet computer or a smart phone or apair of spectacles with display means.
 6. The method of claim 1, whereinthe step of defining a set of instructions includes assigning asequential order to each lubrication point in the series and whereinstorage of the delivered volume at a particular lubrication point Litriggers the display of the next lubrication point Li+1 in thesequential order.
 7. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of defininga set of instructions includes assigning a geographic location to eachlubrication point in the series and wherein the display device or thegrease meter is equipped with a positioning system.
 8. The method ofclaim 7, wherein the steps of displaying (iv) and (vi) further comprisedisplaying an indication of where the lubrication point is located,relative to the location of the positioning system.
 9. The method ofclaim 7, wherein the grease meter is configured to store the geographicposition at which the delivered volume is measured.
 10. The method ofclaim 7, wherein the step of displaying (iv) is preceded by a step ofidentifying which of the lubrication points in the series, for which adelivered volume has not yet been stored, is geographically closest tothe positioning system, and wherein the step of displaying (iv)comprises displaying the identified lubrication point.
 11. The methodclaim 1, wherein the grease meter is further configured to time stampthe time at which the delivered volume of grease was stored.
 12. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the grease meter is integrated in a greasegun that delivers the prescribed volume of grease.
 13. The method ofclaim 11, wherein the grease meter is configured to stop the delivery ofgrease when the prescribed volume is measured.
 14. A system forexecuting a lubrication plan, the system comprising: a grease meter formeasuring a volumetric flow of grease through the meter, and a displaydevice, wherein the grease meter provides: memory means for storing aset of instructions, which at least include a series of prescribedgrease volumes V1, V2, . . . Vn to be delivered at a correspondingseries of lubrication points L1, L2, . . . Ln, memory means for storinga volume of grease delivered at a particular lubrication point; andmeans for communicating with the display device; and wherein the displaydevice: comprises memory means for storing an image of each lubricationpoint in the series, each image being a photograph of the machine thatcomprises the lubrication point, including a visual indication of thelocation of that lubrication point on the machine; and is configured todisplay each image along with the prescribed grease volume that is to bedelivered at the corresponding lubrication point, whereby the display ofthe image of a further lubrication point in the series image istriggered by the grease meter when a delivered volume is stored.
 15. Thesystem of claim 14, wherein the memory and communication means of thegrease meter are housed within an electronic module that can berepeatedly connected to and disconnected from mechanical parts of thegrease meter.
 16. The system of claim 14, wherein the grease meterfurther comprises means for measuring a sensor signal and for storingthe measured signal.
 17. The system of claim 16, wherein the sensorsignal is a vibration signal or an ultrasound signal.